Ormond St hires negotiator for staff crisis

Great Ormond Street Hospital has hired a negotiator to resolve an ongoing crisis between staff and management.

The unprecedented move comes weeks after a group of consultants declared that they had no confidence in chief executive Dr Jane Collins.

Insiders told the Standard the decision to bring in an NHS executive from another London health trust to handle staff complaints reflected the breakdown of trust between some doctors and senior managers.

The hospital is a world leader in specialist care for children with complex or life-threatening illnesses. But it faced fierce criticism over its response to the death of baby Peter Connelly and its treatment of whistleblowers. Some doctors have also voiced concerns about standards of medical care.

These concerns would normally be handled by the two medical directors who are already employed full-time by the trust.

But it is understood some doctors mistrust these senior managers because they were appointed by Dr Collins. As a result, the hospital has been forced to bring in a new director from outside on a part-time basis to listen to staff grievances.

Great Ormond Street said the hospital was merely "doing the right thing" by bringing in an external consultant to improve relations between staff and management.

A spokesman said the hospital's consultant body had given its full support to the chief executive and the executive team of the hospital. He added: "The trust acknowledged there were some issues that needed to be addressed and thought it would be helpful to have an external view, working alongside the existing medical directors.

"This is not unusual as the trust often welcomes external expertise, in the same way as we often provide senior support to other trusts."

But one trust source claimed: "If there was not the level of breakdown then this wouldn't be needed."